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Nashik rape probe:Shelter homes turn into horror houses amid laxity by govt
According to the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB), there were 94 incidents of sexual abuse against women and children in Maharashtra in 2020
Recent reports have raised serious concern over the rising tide of crimes against children inside shelter homes across Maharashtra even as government agencies continue to claim carrying out regular audits of these establishments.
Earlier last week, a three and a half-year-old from Ulhasnagar, Thane, was found dead at a private shelter home in Trimbakeshwar, Nashik. Three days later on November 25, the police detained a 13-year-old from the same shelter home for murdering the toddler. Turns out that the 13-year-old had a tiff with the victim’s elder brother after which he had sought revenge by strangulating the victim with a piece of saree cloth. The 13-year-old is currently lodged in a government observation home.
Barely days after the occurrence, another incident involving the alleged rape of a 19-year-old girl and five minor girls from a Mhasrul-based shelter home by the director, Harshal More, 28, sent shockwaves across the district. The probe revealed that the shelter home in question had been running without approvals from the Woman and Child Welfare department (WCD) and the Tribal department of the state government.
According to prominent lawyer Rama Sarode, there have been instances of sexual abuse by those controlling such shelters knowing fully well that the inmates are vulnerable by virtue of their impoverished backgrounds. “These places (shelter homes) are to be empathetic to the security of vulnerable women and children. The Woman and Child Development department should take all the victims under its wing and put them under observation and care. The shelters have to be referred to and go through the Child Welfare committee and only after the committee’s approval are the children kept in these shelter homes. The rising cases of crimes in ashram shalas where the caretakers or the people-in-charge take undue advantage of and resort to sexual abuse of the inmates is a very serious matter and amounts to segregated sexual abuse,” Sarode said.
According to the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB), there were 94 incidents of sexual abuse against women and children in Maharashtra in 2020, which went down to 42 in 2021, mostly due to Covid. The state witnessed 94 incidents of sexual abuse in 2019; 161 such incidents in 2018; and 64 in 2017.
According to state tribal commissioner Hiralal Yadav, his department conducts regular psychological examinations of tribal students and is also involved in educating them about the ‘good’ and ‘bad’ touch.
Yadav said, “A number of small books and pamphlets have been distributed amongst tribal children and adults to make them aware of the dangers of sexual exploitation. Similarly, all project officers and teachers have been trained to provide all necessary help to the students. We have conducted audits of 497 government- and 528 NGO-run ashram schools to check for loopholes if any. During the past two years, the number of sexual abuse cases has gone down considerably.”
Following the Mhasrul incident, Women and Child Development minister Mangal Prabhat Lodha has directed the Woman and Child Development commissioner to conduct a probe into the incident and submit a report to the government within seven days. “I have given directions to the principal secretary of the department to conduct a probe and submit a report to the government. It is a serious case and the investigation will reveal further details of the case,” Lodha said.
Whereas WCD commissioner R Vimla said that the WCD has been regularly checking the safety standards of all hostels under its jurisdiction. “Also, we have directed one of our deputy commissioners in Nashik to carry out a probe into the Mhasrul case and submit a report. Besides, the WCD has nothing to do with the case as it does not have any jurisdiction over the matter. In case of any discrepancy found, criminal action is initiated like in the recent Nasik case,” Vimla said.
